Only a Matter of Time
by L.e.o.n.a.r.d.o.TMNT
Summary: While working in Antarctica, Edward stumbles upon a secret laboratory. The secrets within pose a threat to the future of the world, but who can stop the government?
1. Chapter 1

DISCLAIMER- This story is mainly a Fullmetal Alchemist: Brotherhood fanfiction. However, the idea for nano-technology and everything with that I have borrowed from Prey. It is not a legitimate crossover in my opinion, however, because no characters from Prey are involved. Just ideas from the book.  
I do not own anything of FMA, nor do I own anything of Prey. FMA is owned by Hiromu Arakawa, BONES, Aniplex, Funimation and others. Prey is property of Michael Chrichton.  
Many characters are OOC in this and I am sorry. I just needed to use them how I did. There will also be character deaths.  
RATED M- Swearing, violence, and perhaps romance or gore in later chapters.

**Ok, so the info about the Antarctic and government things may be inaccurate, but it's fanfiction. I'm sorry.**

Edward Elric- Government Scientist, USA D.O.B: 12/17/1999

Age: 24 Gender: Male Height: 5'6" Weight: 175

Hair: Blonde Eyes: Hazel

Identification Number:194AKf57hDt11

Next to this information was a picture of the young scientist. His expression was blank, his golden eyes staring straight at the photographer. It had been taken a month ago, before he had been sent out on this expedition. The information hadn't changed since then, but he still scoffed at it.

A smirk came across his face as he shook his head. _Hazel? Blonde? Please. They just can't edit the system, or they're just too damn lazy to do it. Everyone I've ever met says that both are golden. And I whole-heartedly agree. _

With one last look at the small card in his hand, Edward slipped it back into his wallet. He traded it for a picture from 2 years ago. He was standing on the beach, just in the surf. Next to him stood a beautiful young woman, with bright blue eyes and flowing blonde hair. They were both donning their swimming attire and smiling at the scenery around them. The sunset behind them lit up the sky in a myriad of colors. On the back, in a small scrawl, was written: 'October 3, 2011- day of proposal, Hawaii.'

The memories of the day bombarded him and a gentle smile came to his face. He and Winry had been dating for 6 years. They had met in their senior year of school and went on to attend the same college. He had become a scientist for the government, she had become an artist. Now, however, he had been shipped out to Antarctica for a trip while his wife remained home, working part-time at the local grocery store. She painted in her spare time.

The current mission involved two parts, both of which Edward had been certified for: gathering ice cores from glaciers and tracking penguin breeding and migratory behaviors. Both were rather simple overall. He was working with a few other men and currently finishing up the ice core drilling. After that he would finish charting the penguin breeding grounds before going home.

After securing the picture once more, Edward pulled the parka tight around him and pulled on his gloves. He stepped outside the mess hall and was met with the sound of a large drill. The man operating it was his friend, Louis Armstrong. He was a tank of a man, easily towering over any other human that he had ever met. He worked out quite often, making him a wall of muscle. The other man near the drill was Heymans Breda. He was closer to Ed's size in height, but much wider in girth. He was the cook on this mission, providing the group with an excellent menu.

Ed raised a hand in greeting to his friends. Armstrong nodded and Breda walked over, slapping his young comrade on the back. He pulled his hood back, sighing loudly. "So, Edward. We're almost done here. Whaddya say we head on over to the mess hall? The mail came today, along with his ride outta here." Breda's head tilted towards Armstrong, who stopped the drill. He walked over, his heady boots leaving deep impressions in the hard-packed snow.

"It has been a pleasure to serve with you, Edward, but I must head out. I am having some family issues at home." He held out his oversized hand and grabbed Ed's smaller one in his, shaking it firmly. "I will miss both of you dearly." He started off towards the mess hall, Ed and Breda following behind. The mess hall itself wasn't much of a hall. It was one of three permanent buildings that the US had established in the Antarctic. It was small and squat, just large enough to house 2 large tables and a kitchen, along with an attached supply shed. There was a small row of long, thick windows, letting in a meager lighting through the snow-packed glass.

The other building was only about 10 steps from the mess hall. It was much larger than the mess hall and included much more complex machinery. There was a huge freezer for storing the ice cores filled with rows upon rows of shelves stocked with carefully labeled tubes. A large hall was filled with a complex computer system and many filing cabinets full of information. Everything was carefully stored, meticulously labeled. Next to the Records Hall stood the 'Hut', as it was affectionately dubbed. There were a few rooms that held 10 bunks each and a few bathrooms, making it a rather bland but functional place.

Upon entering the mess hall, Edward pulled his jacket off and hung it over the back of a chair. His comrades did likewise and they all proceeded to get some coffee. Ed wasn't really picky about his coffee. He grabbed a Styrofoam cup and filled it to the brim with steaming, dark coffee. Grabbing a stirring stick with his pinky, he walked back to the table and set it down, collapsing heavily into a chair. He took a sip and sighed happily as Breda walked over, setting down a few envelopes.

Two were for Armstrong- one was a letter from home informing his of all that was happening and the other was a large packet from the states he had to fill out prior to returning home. One was for Breda and included a simple newspaper clipping from his friend, who had managed to win an award in his hometown. The last was for Edward.

His name and current location were carefully written in a large, beautiful handwriting that he had come to love over the years. Normally, Winry's handwriting was hard to read and almost like that of her parents, who had both been doctors. They had tragically been killed while overseas a few years ago, but she had inherited their handwriting. He turned it over and gently ripped it open and pulled out a note. It wasn't nearly as long as some of his other letters had been, but it was still something to make him smile. It read thus:

_Dear Edward-_

_How are you doing? I suppose it's the same as last time. I would have heard if something happened. I'm so glad that you'll be home in my arms soon. Life here has been as boring as usual. Working at the grocery isn't really interesting, but I got a small bonus! I'm going to save up and hopefully, by putting back, we can afford college for our kid. Unless they take after us and get scholarships, of course. _

_I have been working on a new painting lately, too. You inspired me to do it and it's challenging for me. You know that I normally do animals or woodland landscapes and such, so I decided to do one of the artic. It's going to be a time shift, where the left it during the day and the right is at night, with the areas between blending together. There will be a sunset and the southern lights. And, of course, penguins._

_I hope that you're doing well and I hope to hear back from you soon, darling. Take care._

_~Winry Urey Elric_

Edward smiled and gently set the letter down, taking another sip of his coffee. He stood and went over to a set of small filing cabinets along the wall and retrieved a stamped envelope, paper and a pen. He began to write his reply.

_Dear Win-_

_I'm so glad that everything is ok at home. Congratulations on the raise. And with your talent and brains, the child will definitely get into a good college easy. And then we can retire easy and travel the world like we always wanted._

_That painting sounds exceptionally beautiful, outdone only by its artist. I cannot wait to see another masterpiece of yours and I too look forwards to meeting with you soon. I believe that I am scheduled to leave in another couple of weeks. Armstrong is lucky- he's heading back home now. I'll just send the letter with him and have him mail it once he gets back. I heard he'll be heading back to Texas to settle a family issue or something of the like._

_Regardless I miss you very much and I will be with you soon._

_~Ed_

After rereading it to make sure it was satisfactory, he stuck it in the envelope and sealed it before sliding it towards Armstrong with a grin. "Be sure to mail it for me, eh?" He grinned before drinking the rest of his coffee in a few seconds. He pitched the cup and grabbed his coat. Breda laughed.

"Heading back out so soon, kid? You can stay in for a while more, you know." He stood as he said this, however and began to stretch.

"You're one to talk, Breda. Looks like you're heading back out too." He zipped up his jacket and stepped out, Breda following close behind.

"Well someone has to finish drilling while you're charting penguins," he laughed. When he reached the drill he made sure it was all good before starting it up, letting it warm up a moment before slowly pushing it down.

Ed laughed a bit and grabbed his pack from the ground and slung it onto his back, making sure it was secure, before setting out with one last wave to Breda. He trudged along, his boots making slight indentations in the hard-packed snow. After a few moments, he found the first of his markers leading towards the penguins. They were, oddly, within a simple 20-minute walk. When daydreaming of going home, that walk only seemed to take a few moments. He quickly reached the top of the ridge and knelt down, staring down upon his goal- a valley full of penguins.


	2. Chapter 2

**If any facts about the penguins or breeding grounds are wrong, I apologize. But I tried my best to keep it real.**

Most think of penguins as dull little flightless birds. In reality, however, they are very interesting to study. Their habits are quite simple, seeing as the birds are small, but they still fascinated the young scientist. Thus, Ed was the one to whom the task was delegated.

Because he had visited the area before, a trail had already been made down to the valley floor below. He slid down the last few feet gently, startling a few nearby birds. They were still wary of him, but had grown to be used to him after a while of seeing him around. They waddled around his feet, almost tripping him a few times. Ed slowly made his way over to a large, flat area where there were no penguin nests where he set up his equipment. All he had brought with him was a pack with some food, water, and some note-taking materials.

Once he got his clipboard ready, he started to note on their behavior as he had been doing the past few days, as well as noting their reactions to different things, such as noises and random objects he brought with him. Today Ed was going to test to see their reaction to a sound of a carnivore from the North America, the wolverine. He pulled out a tape recording of the noise and played it, marking down the reactions of the creatures around him.

After about an hour of watching them, he took a break to have a small snack before deciding to head back to the base. As he packed up his bag again, an odd sound reached his ear. It was the sound of a snowmobile. He shrugged and started climbing the valley walls. As he emerged, he caught sight of the snowmobile, slowly fading into the distance.

_Why is he heading that way? There's nothing over that way… _A puzzled look crossed his face as he stood there. After a split-second decision, he started off after the snowmobile. He wasn't going too far, seeing as how it was getting colder outside with each passing minute and he had no idea what lay in his intended course. There was an order for those in the base to not head out too far from it, and he was the only one allowed so far away because of his research. It wouldn't hurt to take a peek over the next hill, would it?

As he climbed the peak of the hill, his eyes scanned the horizon for the elusive transport. He saw it far off and had to squint to see it. As he did, his eyes suddenly flew back open. The machine was heading inside what appeared to be a giant, blockish mound of snow. _Another base? What is that doing out here?_ It wasn't that far off and he couldn't resist temptation, so he quickly set off. His coat was white to blend in and not scare the penguins, but he was wearing a bright red vest over that. He took it off and set both that and his pack on the ground.

His boots crunched quietly over the snow as he took off, hastening slightly since he didn't have to carry his pack. Once halfway there he realized that if something happened he had no communication with the base, but it was too late to turn back now. He pulled his hood over his head as he got closer, trying to hide his bright golden hair.

Ed stopped about 70 feet away and crouched behind a snow bank, peering cautiously around it at the building. It was colored the exact same as the surrounding snow and almost burrowed into it, but it still retained an air of force around it. The building was a giant block of concrete with a few smaller blocks branching off of it. The doors all looked different than normal, but he didn't know why. Being the spunky, antsy scientist that he was, Ed set out towards it to get a closer look. As he approached, he caught sight of a sign by the larger door. It read BRIGGS, in large red letters. He committed it to memory and turned to head back.

His return trip was more rushed and almost careless in a way. Once he reached his pack, he haphazardly slung it over his shoulder and hurried back to his own base. Once inside, he headed to the counter to grab a quick granola bar before heading over to the Records Hall.

No one else was inside, for which he was grateful. A regular computer sat in the corner, dwarfed by all the technology around it. Edward quickly headed over towards it and turned it on. He logged on and pulled up a page of government information. In the search box, he typed in BRIGGS.

At first, nothing popped up. After a few moments of waiting, however, a small screen popped up. In bold, strict letters it read:

**Please input government ID, PIN and Computer Location**

Edward stared at it a moment. Was it really this easy? He tentatively put the information into the blinking boxes, glancing at the corner of the screen for the locating number, 9Jf78. Once it was in, the screen instantly went dark. An angry sigh escaped the young scientist's lips just as the screen reappeared. It was now covered with multiple files about the lab.

His eyes scanned the pages vigorously, his mind soaking up every bit of information he could find. The name BRIGGS stood for Biotechnology Research Institute: Guarded Ground Subunit. Most of it was actually useless, but there was one interesting bit that stuck with him- _Nanotechnology researching institute._

Edward's eyes froze over these letters as his mind ticked away rapidly. Nanotechnology? That was supposed to be almost impossible. Sure, there had been a lot of advances in technology in the past few years in the way of robots and medicines and the like, but this…

With a quick shake of the head, he closed the files, logged out of the system and removed the search history. To cover his reason for entering, he walked over to the wall where his penguin research was stored and added his new info to the stack.

As he left the Records Hall and headed to the mess hall, he noticed that Breda had returned to his post at the drill. With a friendly nod, he headed inside to relax for a few. He was stopped inside the door, however, by a man he had never seen before.

The man was taller than him with perfectly groomed black hair and a military uniform that was 100% in order. By his badges and such, Edward was able to tell that he was in a higher rank, so he gave a salute. Even ice-drillers had to respect the military rankings. As the man turned, Edward noticed that his left eye was covered in an eye patch.

The man looked down at Edward. "Private Edward Elric, am I correct?" Without waiting for an affirmation, the man continued. "I am General King Bradley. I noticed that you have found out about BRIGGS."

Edward froze, trying to hide any expression from his face. He really wanted to find a snarky comeback, but he couldn't risk pissing off a General, regardless of reason. With a quick nod, he replied, "Yes, sir, I saw a snowmobile heading out of bounds and I assumed it was one of my colleagues here, so I followed with the intention of stopping them."

Bradley made no expression. "You have the most distance leniency due to your work." He paused and changed topics. "Every time someone views restricted files on the government network, the head of said files is notified. Thus, I knew that you had been looking at them."

Edward looked down a bit and sighed, thinking that he would get in trouble. However, Bradley continued along a different line of thought. "It seems that you have taken an interest in the nanotechnological advances of this day. I want you to come with me back to the lab and help me in some experimenting."

Edward looked up at the General, a slight quirk of confusion on his face. "You want me to help with nanotechnology experiments?" He was in shock. He had read about this before and was utterly pleased to be given this chance. If he could get a raise, he and Winry could finally get into the art aspect more and maybe even quit her part-time job.

After a quick moment of thinking, Edward nodded. "Alright, I will accept your offer, Sir. I think it will be an honor to help you with your research."

Bradley smiled as Ed gave him a salute. Bradley nodded and walked out as he whispered to himself, "You will be a prime subject."


End file.
